Teen pleads guilty to 55 counts in deadly Apalachee High School shooting in Georgia
Colt Gray, the 16-year-old accused of killing four and injuring more at Apalachee High School in Georgia nearly two years ago, has pleaded guilty to all 55 counts against him.
Gray had previously pleaded not guilty in the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, a small town about 40 miles northeast of Atlanta. Besides the four people who died, nine were wounded.
The change in plea brings an end to a case that’s notable in part because Gray’s father also was charged in connection with the shooting. Gray’s trial was scheduled to begin in Mid-October.
The shooting and charges
Gray was a 14-year-old freshman when he brought a semiautomatic AR-style rifle to school in his book bag. During the school’s second period, he emerged from a restroom with the rifle and opened fire in a hallway and a classroom.
Students Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn and teachers Richard Aspinwall and Ana-Cristina Irimie died in the attack.
Gray pled guilty to all 55 charges, including malice murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery. He could be sentenced to as much as 180 years in prison.
Although he was charged as an adult, Gray has been held since 2024 at a juvenile detention center.
No motive was ever established for the shooting. However, according to pre-trial testimony, he left a notebook detailing plans for the shooting and a diagram of one of his classrooms.
Father also charged and convicted
Gray was not the only one punished in the shooting. His father, Colin, was convicted in March on 27 counts, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children.
Prosecutors said Colin allowed his son to access firearms and ammunition used in the shooting, despite warnings that Colt may harm others.
Colin is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.
His case, however, has garnered significant national attention as he was just the second parent of an accused school shooter to face charges.
Juries in Michigan convicted Jennifer and James Crumbley of involuntary manslaughter in 2024 after their son Ethan pleaded guilty to killing four students at Michigan’s Oxford High School in 2021. Both parents were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
